Scalable common interface plate system (SCIPS)

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a low profile, compact, scalable concept end-effector for use in robotic handling applications. The end-effector acts as the interface between multi-degree-of-freedom (DOF) manipulator and its base (if applicable), as well as the tools it handles and is compatible with both large manipulator systems such as the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) and Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) and smaller dexterous manipulators such as the Orbital Express Dexterous Manipulator System. An active/controlled component is attached to the roll joint(s) at one or both end(s) of the manipulator, with an entirely passive component attached to the structure/tools that the manipulator interfaces with. Interface engagement and mate operations are performed by way of the manipulator roll joint. Once mated, shear pins are extended to lock the mated assembly in place and achieve a high stiffness, zero free play mated interface.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This patent application relates to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/305,266 filed on Feb. 17, 2010 entitled “Scalable CommonInterface Plate System (SCIPS)” which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a scalable common interface platesystem for use with robotic manipulators.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many space robotic manipulator designs to-date have been especiallyaccommodating with respect to allowable interface misalignments. Whilethis requirement has the obvious advantage of a generous capture window,it has also imposed considerable mass penalty and a high level ofcomplexity on the manipulator's end-effectors. Current generationrobotics performing operations local to the manipulator (i.e. on acommon structure) can be expected to have significantly better alignmentprior to capture and would as a consequence deem most of theend-effector's misalignment tolerance as superfluous.

With this situation in mind, it would be very advantageous to provide anew interface configured to provide a light-weight, low cost alternativefor applications not requiring the full capabilities of traditionalsnare rigidize end-effectors which tend to have high mass andsuperfluous capture misalignment capabilities.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a low profile, compact, scalable conceptend-effector for use in robotic handling applications. The end-effectoracts as the interface between a multi-degree-of-freedom (DOF)manipulator and its base (if applicable), as well as the tools ithandles and is compatible with both large manipulator systems such asthe Shuttle Remote Manipulator System (SRMS) and Space Station RemoteManipulator System (SSRMS) and smaller dexterous manipulators such asthe Orbital Express Dexterous Manipulator System (OEDMS class)manipulators. An active/controlled component is attached to the rolljoint(s) at one or both end(s) of the manipulator, with an entirelypassive component attached to the structure/tools that the manipulatorinterfaces with. Interface engagement and mate operations are performedby way of the manipulator roll joint. Once mated, shear pins areextended to lock the mated assembly in place and achieve a highstiffness, zero free play mated interface.

Thus, there is provided an embodiment of a scalable common interfaceplate system for use with a robotic manipulator, comprising:

a) an active base interface plate including a housing structure, saidhousing structure including a base plate and a top plate, said top platehaving attachment points for affixing to said robotic manipulator, saidactive base interface plate including a locking mechanism mounted insaid housing structure on an internal side of said base plate, saidlocking mechanism including at least one wedge protruding through anaperture in said base plate, said locking mechanism including at leastone locking pin and an actuator for extending and retracting said pins;and

b) a passive base interface plate including a first and second side,said first side having attachment points for attaching said passive baseinterface plate to an object, said passive base interface plateincluding at least one slot through which said at least one wedge can beinserted and withdrawn, said passive base interface plate including atleast one pin hole on said second side for receiving said at least onelocking pin, said first side including at least one complementarysurface associated with said at least one slot, said complementarysurface being contoured for receiving said at least one wedge.

In an embodiment, to perform a mating operation, said roboticmanipulator having said active base interface plate affixed theretomaneuvers said active base interface plate such that said at least onewedge protrudes through said at least one slot and subsequently rotatessaid housing structure such that said at least one wedge contacts saidcomplementary surface, at which point said actuator is commanded toextend said at least one locking pin into said at least one pin hole,such that said active base interface plate is mated to said passive baseinterface plate, and

wherein to perform a demating operation of said active base interfaceplate from said passive base interface plate, said actuator is commandedto retract said at least one locking pin, and said robotic manipulatoris commanded to maneuver said active base interface plate away from saidpassive base interface plate.

The present invention also provides a method of mating an object to arobotic manipulator, said method comprising the steps of:

providing an active base interface plate affixed to said roboticmanipulator, said active base interface plate including at least onewedge protruding from said active base interface plate, at least onelocking pin, and an actuator for extending and retracting said at leastone locking pin,

providing a passive base interface plate affixed to said object, saidpassive base interface plate including at least one slot and at leastone pin hole,

commanding said robotic manipulator to maneuver said active baseinterface plate affixed to said robotic manipulator towards said passivebase interface plate such that said at least one wedge protrudes throughsaid at least one slot,

commanding said robotic manipulator to rotate said active base interfaceplate such that said at least one wedge contacts a bottom surface ofsaid passive base interface plate, and

commanding said robotic manipulator to extend said at least one lockingpin into said at least one pin hole.

The interface disclosed herein is very advantageous in that it resultsin a high stiffness, low power, and compact end-effector design. It usesa barrel-cam component design which removes the need for mechanismbrakes, while utilizing a sequencing of cam surfaces which enablesmulti-mechanism actuation from a single motor.

A further understanding of the functional and advantageous aspects ofthe invention can be realized by reference to the following detaileddescription and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way ofexample only, with reference to drawings. Drawings are not necessarilyto scale. For clarity and conciseness, certain features of the inventionmay be exaggerated and shown in schematic form.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of a scalable common interface plate systemin accordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2 shows a perspective top view of a passive base interface plateforming part of the scalable common interface plate system;

FIG. 3 shows a perspective bottom view of the passive base interfaceplate of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an active base interface platelooking at the bottom of the plate;

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the active base interface plateabsent the cylindrical wall showing the interior of the active baseinterface plate;

FIG. 6 shows a cross-section showing preload wedge assembly and theactive base interface plate mated to the passive base interface plate;

FIG. 7 shows a cross-section of the active base interface plate mated tothe passive base interface plate showing rigidize pin assembly;

FIG. 8 shows a partial cross section of an interface wedge which formspart of a locking mechanism of the present device; and

FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a rigidization pin assembly forming partof the present scalable common interface plate system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Generally speaking, the systems described herein are directed to ascalable common interface plate system (SCIPS) for robotic systems. Asrequired, embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein.However, the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary, and it shouldbe understood that the invention may be embodied in many various andalternative forms.

The Figures are not to scale and some features may be exaggerated orminimized to show details of particular elements while related elementsmay have been eliminated to prevent obscuring novel aspects. Therefore,specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not tobe interpreted as limiting but merely as a basis for the claims and as arepresentative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the present invention. For purposes of teaching and notlimitation, the illustrated embodiments are directed to a scalablecommon interface plate system (SCIPS) for robotic systems.

As used herein, the terms, “comprises” and “comprising” are to beconstrued as being inclusive and open ended, and not exclusive.Specifically, when used in this specification including claims, theterms, “comprises” and “comprising” and variations thereof mean thespecified features, steps or components are included. These terms arenot to be interpreted to exclude the presence of other features, stepsor components.

As used herein, the terms “about” and “approximately”, when used inconjunction with ranges of dimensions of components, or other physicalproperties or characteristics, is meant to cover slight variations thatmay exist in the upper and lower limits of the ranges of dimensions soas to not exclude embodiments where on average most of the dimensionsare satisfied but where statistically dimensions may exist outside thisregion. It is not the intention to exclude embodiments such as thesefrom the present invention.

As used herein, the coordinating conjunction “and/or” is meant to be aselection between a logical disjunction and a logical conjunction of theadjacent words, phrases, or clauses. Specifically, the phrase “X and/orY” is meant to be interpreted as “one or both of X and Y” wherein X andY are any word, phrase, or clause.

System Overview

The interface described in this application is referred to as a scalablecommon interface plate system (SCIPS) which comprises an active baseinterface plate (ABIP) on the manipulator side and a passive baseinterface plate (PBIP) on the structure/payload side. FIG. 1 shows thegeneral conceptual layout of the scalable common interface plate systemshown generally at 10 which is intended to act as the interface betweena multi-DOF (degree of freedom) manipulator 12 and its base, as well asthe tools it handles and is compatible with both large shuttle remotemanipulator system (SRMS) and space station remote manipulator system(SSRMS) and small orbital express dexterous manipulator system (OEDMSclass or smaller) manipulators. In this way, the accuracy of themanipulator 12 can be exploited to the benefit of much lighter, simplerhardware while still addressing free-flyer capture (or otherspecialized) situations with a selection of available tools.

An active base interface plate 20 is attached to each of the two rolljoints 22 of the manipulator 12 while passive base interface plates 26are attached to the structure at each of the desired manipulator baselocations as well as to the tools and payloads that are to be picked upby the manipulator 12. The active base interface plate 20 includes twosets of interface wedges that engage with a corresponding set ofcomplementary surfaces located on either a full-size passive baseinterface plate 26 (for large payloads, base operations, heavy tools,etc. . . . ) or a reduced size passive base interface plate 26 (forsmall payloads, tools, etc. . . . ).

Interface engagement and mate operations are performed by way of themanipulator roll joint 22. Once mated, shear pins are driven from theactive base interface plate 20 into the passive base interface plates 26to lock the mated assembly in place and achieve a high stiffness, zerofree play mated interface. General operation of the scalable commoninterface plate system is a staged operation similar to grappleoperations employed with the power data grapple fixture (PDGF). Initialpositioning and interface alignment is performed with standardmanipulator operations assisted by a vision system integral to theactive base interface plate 20. Initial engagement is performedutilizing the manipulator arm wrist roll joint 22 with finalrigidization and connector actuation being performed by componentswithin the active base interface plate 20. Connector engagement isoptional.

The active base interface plate 20 internal design is based onbarrel-cam sequencing, therefore it is able to operate all mechanismsfrom a single rotational actuator. This design has the benefit ofcompact, light-weight packaging, low-power requirements and easyconfigurability with respect to mechanism stroke and timing. The activebase interface plate 20 design provides capability for EVA (extravehicular activity) actuation, as well as incorporation of theabove-mentioned vision based capture system for either automated orhuman-in-the loop operational modes. The vision system provides sensing(image and a measure of the relative misalignment of the two plates) andthis information is used to control the manipulator either in thehuman-in-the-loop control or automatic control modes.

The passive base interface plate 26 design is compact and entirelypassive in function; it is extremely robust in application and tolerantto the wide variety of environmental extremes encountered in spaceexploration (i.e. cold vacuum, lunar regolith, etc.). The passive baseinterface plate 26 contains no mechanisms or moving parts and, due toits relative simplicity, provides a very light weight robotic interface.The passive base interface plate 26 is flexible and allows bothfull-size (load constrained application) and reduced size (sizeconstrained application) interface options.

To facilitate vision based capture by active base interface plate 20integrated vision system, the passive base interface plate 26 is markedto provide visual cues for both the automated and human-in-the-loopcapture modes.

Passive Base Interface Plate (PBIP)

The passive side of the present scalable common interface plate system,the passive base interface plate 26, is the complementary mating surfaceto the active base interface plate 20 and targeted as a low-profilealternative to the power data grapple fixture in non-free flyer captureoperations. The passive base interface plate 26 economical designrequires no electronics for actuation or keep-alive and contain nomechanisms and thus provides a low-cost, light-weight and robustalternative tolerant to significant environmental extremes. FIG. 2 showsa perspective top view of an embodiment of the passive base interfaceplate 26 and FIG. 3 shows a perspective bottom view of the passive baseinterface plate 26.

The passive base interface plate 26 is preferably a machined disk 40made of aluminum, specifically contoured to be complementary to theouter set of preload wedges forming part of the active base interfaceplate 20, (to be discussed hereinafter) as well as to reduce interfacemisalignments as the active base interface plate 20 and passive baseinterface plate 26 are brought together. Specifically, the passive baseinterface plate 26 includes slots 42 having three wedge surfaces 44, onthe bottom surface of the plate 26, see FIG. 3. The passive baseinterface plate 26 includes three equally spaced holes 52 located on thetop surface penetrating into the plate near the outer periphery of theplate 40, and spaced just in from holes 52 are smaller diameter taperedholes 54, see FIG. 2. Holes 52 are the holes for the mounting bolts usedto affix the plate 26 to the mounting structure to which plate 26 is tobe rigidly attached.

A low-friction interface contact ring 50, seen in FIG. 2 (made ofVespel® (sold by Dupont) or nylon) near the outer periphery of thepassive base interface plate 26 will reduce the required wrist rolljoint torque during the interface preload portion of the interface mateoperation.

Interface preload results from the machined passive base interface plate26 wedge surfaces 44 reacting against the active base interface plate's20 preload wedges 74 as the wrist roll joint 22 is rotated. Alignment ofthe interface will be complete after engagement of tapered rigidizationpins of the active base interface plate 20 into complementary collocatedtaper holes 54 in the top surface of passive base interface plate 26,see FIG. 2. The tapered rigidization pin design provides additionalmisalignment tolerance of the mated interface and, due to the preloaddeveloped in the rigidize pin deployment, helps to ensure a highlyrepeatable relative orientation of the two interfaces.

Souriau plug connectors, if required for the application, may be rigidlyinstalled to the passive base interface plate 26 body withoutaccommodation for compliance (as compliance is already built in to thereceptacle portion of the connection) or protective covers. Materialselections for the body of the passive base interface plate 26 aredriven by interface stiffness requirements and efforts to minimize mass,and therefore aluminum is preferred. To help reduce sliding friction ofthe wedge surfaces during preload, passive base interface plate 26 wedgesurfaces 44 may have either a hard, high-tolerance surface finish (<16μm) or dry film lubricant (i.e. Vitro-lube or Lubeco) applied thereto.

Active Base Interface Plate (ABIP)

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the active base interface plate 20looking at the bottom of the plate. Plate 20 includes a cylindricalhousing 70 attached to a base plate 72 and three interface wedges 74 onthe bottom of plate 72 that each engage with a corresponding set ofcomplementary wedge surfaces 44 located on the passive base interfaceplate 26. Also protruding through the bottom of base plate 72 are threetapered rigidization pins 80. During the mating operation, once thewedges 74 have engaged wedge surfaces 44 in plate 26 pins 80 areinserted into complementary collocated taper holes 54.

As mentioned above, and referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the mate/demateoperations are enabled by way of transforming the wrist roll jointrotation into the interface preload. Interface preload is developed aswedging action due to the roll joint rotation driving the interfacewedges 74 down (relative to the passive base interface plate 26 topsurface), compressing a spring stack on which the active base interfaceplate 20 interface wedges 74 are mounted. The interface is ultimatelylocked in its preloaded condition by actuating the trio of drive pins 80from the active base interface plate 20 into the holes 54 in passivebase interface plate 26.

Referring to FIG. 4, two electrical connectors 90 and 92 are attached tothe outer surface of cylinder 70. Connectors for delivering data andpower, if required for the application, may be integral to the passivebase interface plate 26 body and positioned such that they are fullyengaged at active base interface plate 20 connectors 90, 92end-of-stroke. The passive base interface plate 26 may be constructed indifferent sizes, for example, but not limited to two sizes in which onemay be a full-size, high-stiffness interface to accommodate manipulatorbase operations and to interface with large tools/payloads (i.e.free-flyer end-effector tool) as well as a smaller available interfacefor tools and smaller payloads. Both designs accommodate a target/visualcue system to allow for either automated capture or human-in-the loopoperational capture modes. The internal structure of the active baseinterface plate 20 is described in further detail below.

FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the active base interface plate 20absent the cylindrical housing 70. Three rigidization pin assemblies 100are mounted on base plate 72 (only two visible in FIG. 5), with eachassembly 100 containing one of the three tapered pins 80 discussedabove. A barrel cam assembly 110 includes an inner barrel cam ring 112,and an outer barrel cam ring 114 with the inner ring 112 and outer ring114 separated by a barrel cam spacer ring 116. A toothed drive ring 120is attached to the bottom of the inner barrel cam ring 112.

Mounted on top of each pin assembly 100 is a rigidization pin follower102 which are engaged in the cam track 124 of the inner barrel cam ring112. An actuator/active base interface plate (ABIP) motor module 122 ismounted on the top surface of plate 72 which rotates a drive gear 118which is meshed with the drive ring 120 for rotating the barrel camassembly 110 and hence all three rings 112, 114 and 116.

A bearing support bracket 130 is mounted on the barrel cam assembly 110and a large diameter roller bearing stack 132 supports the barrel camassembly 110 on the interior of the outer casing 70. Three interfacepre-load finger assemblies 134 are mounted on top of plate 72, and eachsupports one interface preload wedge 74.

A connector cam follower 140 engaged into the outer cam track 142 ofouter barrel cam ring 114 is connected to each of electrical connecters90 and 92.

Referring now to FIG. 8, the interface preload wedges 74 are mounted tothe internal side of the active base interface plate 20 interface plate72 via a pair of fixed linear bearing races 402 and will be oriented toallow limited vertical motion of the wedge 74 with respect to the activebase interface plate 20 and interface plate 72. Each wedge 74 containsan enclosed pair of corresponding linear bearings 404 and will beisolated from the active base interface plate 20 structure by abi-linear stiffness Belleville spring stack 406. The stack 406 includesa high travel, low stiffness section (for predictable interface preload)in series with a low travel, high stiffness section (for high interfacestiffness). It is noted that it in operation, wedges 74 are neitherextended nor retracted. They are suspended using the Bellville stack 406and are forced up and down by their interaction with the mating surfaces44 on the passive base interface plate 26 when the manipulator rolljoint 22 is driven.

Nominal interface preload will target 100% of the soft spring stroke toreduce any ‘deadband’ in the interface stiffness. Wedge travel of wedges74 is limited in the negative direction by the available stroke of thebi-linear stiffness Belleville spring stack 406, while travel in thepositive direction is limited by the available stroke of another lowtravel, high stiffness, rebound spring stack 408. The rebound Bellevillespring stack 408 provides a compliant hardstop in the event ofinadvertent contact of a given wedge and structure. At assembly, thesprings 406 and 408 will be preloaded, positioning the wedge 74 in anequilibrium position resulting from the various spring stiffnesses.

The scalable common interface plate system disclosed herein isadvantageous in that it can be readily scaled to whatever size theapplication requires. For example, the passive base interface plate 26may be scaled down to a smaller size for mounting on tools that need tobe picked up using the system. The active base interface plate 20 can bescaled proportionately for use as an interface for picking up the tool.This smaller active base interface plate 20 can also be mounted inside alarger version of the active base interface plate 20 to produce acompound active base interface plate device which can be used as themating device for either the manipulator base with a larger passive baseinterface plate 26 or for picking up tools with a smaller passive baseinterface plate 26. This version of the active base interface plate willhave two concentric sets of wedge groups 74, locking pins 80, connectorsand actuators. The outer set will be sized for the larger passive baseinterface plate and the inner set will be sized for the smaller passivebase interface plate 26. Thus a large active base interface plate caninterface to a large passive base interface plate, a small active baseinterface plate can interface to a small passive base interface plate. Acompound active base interface plate device can interface to either alarge passive base interface plate or a small passive base interfaceplate.

FIG. 9 shows a cross section of a rigidization pin assembly 100 whichincludes a housing 160 and a piston 162 having a cutout 164 forreceiving the top section of tapered pin 80. Piston 162 has a channel166 cut out of one side and a pin 170 mounted in housing 160 projectinginto channel 166 so that as piston 162 moves up our down, the pin 170hitting the ends of the top or bottom of channel 166 acts as hard stopsand also prevents the rotation of the piston 162. A base 174 with holes172 located therein allows pin assembly 100 to be bolted to base plate72. Rigidization pin follower 102 is mounted in the top section ofpiston 162. A Belleville spring stack 410 is mounted around the top endof tapered pin 80 bearing against a shoulder 84 around the midsection ofpin 80 and the bottom end of piston 162.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 9, the connector and rigidize pin extendmechanism is composed of the active base interface plate 20 motor module(AMM) 122 ring gear 120, inner barrel-cam surface 124, outer barrel-camsurface 142 and the various necessary pin/connector cam sliders/rollers102 and 140. The outer and inner barrel-cam surfaces 142 and 124respectively will be rigidly affixed to each other and supported by theactive base interface plate 20 housing 70 via large diameter rollerbearing stack 132. Operationally, the cam surfaces will be rotated bythe AMM 122 and a ring gear 120 mounted to the underside of the innerbarrel cam ring 112. Cam surfaces 124 and 142 are coordinated to engagethe rigidize pins 80 first (AMM 122 target drive Position 1), followedby connector engagement if required (AMM 122 target drive Position 2).Overall travel range of the pins 80, connectors and barrel cam assembly110 are limited by cam surface design. The motion of the rigidize pintop portion will follow the cam surface and compress the Bellevillespring stack 410 in line with the taper-tipped engagement pins 80 thatinterface to the passive base interface plate 26. The preload thatdevelops between the cam surface and the taper-tipped component 80 willensure a zero free play contact between the two taper surfaces.

In operation, as mentioned above, the initial positioning and interfacealignment may be performed with standard manipulator operations assistedby a vision system integral to the active base interface plate 20.Initial engagement is performed utilizing the manipulator arm wrist rolljoint 22 with final rigidization and connector actuation being performedby components within the active base interface plate 20.

The manipulator maneuvers the active base interface plate 20 eitherautonomously or under operator command to a position where the passivebase interface plate 26 is within the range of the vision system. Themanipulator is then commanded in vision guided mode to insert the activebase interface plate 20 wedges 74 into the corresponding slots in thepassive base interface plate 26 to achieve a ready to engage relativeposition and orientation. The manipulator wrist roll joint 22 is thencommanded to cause the wedges 74 to engage with the corresponding matingsurfaces 44 on the passive base interface plate 26 and achieve therequired preloading of the Bellville stacks 406. At this point therigidize pins 80 will be sufficiently aligned with the correspondingtapered holes 54 in the passive base interface plate 26 to guaranteeengagement. The motor module 122 is now commanded to Position 1 to causethe rigidize pins 80 to engage with the tapered holes 54 and thuscausing the interface to lock in place under a preloaded condition. Themotor module 122 is now commanded to Position 2 to cause the connectors90, 92 to advance and mate with the corresponding mating halves mountedon the passive base interface plate 26 thus completing the matingoperation. The demating operation consists of the following steps: Themotor module 122 is commanded to Position 1 to cause the connectors 90,92 to demate. Then the motor module 122 is commanded to its standbyposition to cause the rigidize pins 80 to withdraw from holes 54 andcause derigidization of the interface. The manipulator roll joint 22 isnow commanded to disengage the wedges 74. The manipulator is thencommanded to maneuver the active base interface plate 20 away from thepassive base interface plate 26 thus completing the demating operation.

While the embodiments described herein describe three wedges 74, threeslots 42, three pins 80, and three tapered holes 54, a different numberof wedges, slots, pins, and holes may be employed. Further, thoseskilled in the art will appreciate that different actuators may be usedto extend and retract pins 80 and electrical connectors 90, 92.Non-limiting examples of such actuators may include solenoids, dcmotors, stepper motors, and pneumatic actuators. The above embodimentsdescribe only a few examples of the various configurations and specificelements that may be used with embodiments of the present invention. Assuch, the listing of specific examples is not intended to limit thescope of the present invention.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiments of the inventionhas been presented to illustrate the principles of the invention and notto limit the invention to the particular embodiment illustrated. It isintended that the scope of the invention be defined by all of theembodiments encompassed within the following claims and theirequivalents.

Therefore what is claimed is:
 1. A scalable common interface platesystem for use with a robotic manipulator, comprising: a) an active baseinterface plate including a housing structure, said housing structureincluding a base plate and a top plate, said top plate having attachmentpoints for affixing to said robotic manipulator, said active baseinterface plate including a locking mechanism mounted in said housingstructure on an internal side of said base plate, said locking mechanismincluding at least one wedge protruding through an aperture in said baseplate, said locking mechanism including at least one locking pin and anactuator for extending and retracting said pins; and b) a passive baseinterface plate including a first and second side, said first sidehaving attachment points for attaching said passive base interface plateto an object, said passive base interface plate including at least oneslot through which said at least one wedge can be inserted andwithdrawn, said passive base interface plate including at least one pinhole on said second side for receiving said at least one locking pin,said at least one slot including a complimentary wedge surface forreceiving thereon a wedge surface of said at least one wedge whichaccommodates wedging action of said at least one wedge upon rotation ofsaid active base interface plate with respect to said passive baseinterface plate to bring together said active base interface plate andsaid passive base interface plate during said wedging action.
 2. Thescalable common interface plate system according to claim 1, wherein toperform a mating operation, said robotic manipulator having said activebase interface plate affixed thereto maneuvers said active baseinterface plate such that said at least one wedge protrudes through saidat least one slot and subsequently rotates said housing structure suchthat said at least one wedge contacts said complementary surface, atwhich point said actuator is commanded to extend said at least onelocking pin into said at least one pin hole, such that said active baseinterface plate is mated to said passive base interface plate, andwherein to perform a demating operation of said active base interfaceplate from said passive base interface plate, said actuator is commandedto retract said at least one locking pin, and said robotic manipulatoris commanded to maneuver said active base interface plate away from saidpassive base interface plate.
 3. The scalable common interface platesystem according to claim 2, wherein said locking mechanism includes abarrel cam assembly mounted in said housing structure, said barrel camassembly including an inner barrel cam ring having an inner cam track,said actuator being coupled to said barrel cam assembly for rotatingsaid barrel cam assembly, said locking mechanism including at least onepin assembly, each of said locking pins being housed in one of said pinassemblies, each of said pin assemblies including a pin housing, a shaftlocated in said pin housing having a first and second end portion, saidfirst end portion having affixed thereto a inner cam track pin followerengaged in said inner cam track, said second end portion being engagedwith said locking pin, wherein to perform said mating operation, saidactuator is commanded to rotate said barrel cam assembly in a firstdirection so that said inner cam track pin follower moves down towardssaid base plate thereby extending said locking pin into one of said pinholes, and wherein to perform said demating operation, said actuator iscommanded to rotate said barrel cam assembly in a second directionopposite to said first direction so that said inner cam track pinfollower moves up thereby retracting said locking pin to withdraw saidlocking pin from said pin hole.
 4. The scalable common interface platesystem according to claim 3, wherein said second end portion of saidshaft includes a passageway located therein for receiving a first endportion of said locking pin, said pin assembly including a spring stackmounted around said first end portion of said locking pin bearingagainst a shoulder around a midsection of said locking pin and saidsecond end portion of said shaft, wherein to perform said matingoperation, said barrel cam assembly is rotated in said first directionso that said inner cam track pin follower compresses said spring stackin line with said locking pins, and wherein said spring stack has apre-selected spring strength chosen such that a preload develops betweensaid inner cam track and said pin to ensure a zero free play contactbetween an outer surface of said locking pin and a surface of said pinhole when said locking pin is extended.
 5. The scalable common interfaceplate system of claim 3, wherein said barrel cam assembly includes atoothed drive ring attached to a bottom portion of said inner barrel camring, and wherein said actuator is a motor including a gear for drivingsaid toothed drive ring.
 6. The scalable common interface plate systemof claim 4, wherein said at least one locking pin is tapered, andwherein said at least one pin hole is correspondingly tapered.
 7. Thescalable common interface plate system of claim 4, wherein said barrelcam assembly further includes an outer barrel cam ring having an outercam track, wherein said inner barrel cam ring and said outer barrel camring are separated by a barrel cam spacer ring, wherein said active baseinterface plate further includes at least one electrical connectorattached to an outer surface of said housing structure for deliveringdata and/or power, said electrical connector being connected to an outercam track pin follower engaged in said outer cam track, wherein saidpassive base interface plate further includes at least one electricalreceptacle for receiving said at least one electrical connector, said atleast one electrical receptacle being mounted on said passive baseinterface plate or on said object to which said passive base interfaceplate is attached, wherein, when said actuator is commanded to rotatesaid barrel cam assembly in said first direction, said outer cam trackpin follower and said electrical connector moves down as said barrel camassembly rotates, thereby plugging said electrical connector into saidelectrical receptacle, and when said actuator is commanded to rotatesaid barrel cam assembly in said second direction opposite to said firstdirection, said outer cam track pin follower and said electricalconnector move up to withdraw said electrical connector from saidelectrical receptacle.
 8. The scalable common interface plate system ofclaim 6, wherein said at least one locking pin is three locking pins,and wherein said at least one pin hole is three pin holes.
 9. Thescalable common interface plate system of claim 7, wherein said innercam track and said outer cam track are angularly offset with respect toone another, such that when said actuator is commanded to rotate saidbarrel cam assembly in said first direction, said inner cam track pinfollower moves down prior to said outer cam track pin follower, therebyextending said at least one locking pin prior to extending said at leastone electrical connector, and when said actuator is commanded to rotatesaid barrel cam assembly in said second direction opposite to said firstdirection, said outer cam track pin follower moves up prior to saidinner cam track pin follower, thereby retracting said at least oneelectrical connector prior to retracting said at least one locking pin.10. The scalable common interface plate system of claim 9, wherein inoperation, after said locking mechanism is locked in place to saidpassive base interface plate under a preloaded condition in a firstangular position, said actuator is commanded to rotate said barrel camassembly to a second angular position to cause said at least oneelectrical connector to advance and mate with said at least oneelectrical receptacle, and wherein to retract said at least oneelectrical connector, said actuator is commanded to rotate said barrelcam assembly to said first angular position to cause said at least oneelectrical connector to retract from said at least one electricalreceptacle.
 11. The scalable common interface plate system of claim 7,wherein said active base interface plate includes a first and secondconcentric locking mechanism, each concentric locking mechanismincluding at least one wedge, at least one locking pin, a barrel camassembly, and an actuator for rotating said barrel cam assembly toextend and retract said at least one locking pin, such that said activebase interface plate can alternatively mate with a passive baseinterface plate of a first size or a passive base interface plate of asecond size, and wherein said passive base interface plate of said firstsize includes a hole to make room for said second concentric lockingmechanism.
 12. The scalable common interface plate system of claim 8wherein said at least one wedge is three wedges each mounted in anassociated support mechanism, and wherein said at least one slot isthree slots.
 13. The scalable common interface plate system of claim 12,wherein said passive base interface plate includes a low-frictioncontact ring on a periphery of said second side for reducing frictionbetween said active base interface plate and said passive base interfaceplate.
 14. The scalable common interface plate system of claim 13,wherein said passive base interface plate is a machined disk made ofaluminium, and wherein said attachment points in said passive baseinterface plate are holes for mounting bolts.
 15. The scalable commoninterface plate system of claim 14 wherein robotic manipulator includesa wrist roll joint connected to said top plate.
 16. The scalable commoninterface plate system of claim 14, wherein said at least one wedge hasa finish applied thereto that is one of a hard high-tolerance surfacefinish and a dry film lubricant.
 17. The scalable common interface platesystem of claim 1, wherein each of said wedges is mounted inside saidhousing structure to said internal side of said base plate by a wedgesupport mechanism, said wedge support mechanism including a pair offixed linear bearing races oriented to allow limited vertical motion ofsaid wedge with respect to said base plate, and wherein said wedgesupport mechanism includes an enclosed pair of corresponding linearbearings which are isolated from said housing structure by a bilinearstiffness spring stack, wherein said bilinear stiffness spring stackincludes a high travel low stiffness section in series with a low travelhigh stiffness section.
 18. The scalable common interface plate systemof claim 17 wherein said bilinear stiffness spring stack is a Bellevillespring stack.
 19. The scalable common interface plate system of claim 1,wherein said active base interface plate includes a first and secondconcentric locking mechanism, each concentric locking mechanismincluding at least one wedge, at least one locking pin, and an actuatorfor extending and retracting said at least one locking pin, such thatsaid active base interface plate can alternatively mate with a passivebase interface plate of a first size or a passive base interface plateof a second size, and wherein said passive base interface plate of saidfirst size includes a hole to make room for said second concentriclocking mechanism when mated.
 20. The scalable common interface platesystem of claim 1, wherein said passive base interface plate furtherincludes visual markers for assisting in mating said active baseinterface plate to said passive base interface plate.
 21. The scalablecommon interface plate system of claim 20, wherein to perform a matingoperation, said robotic manipulator controlled using an automatic visionsystem and one of either a human-in-the-loop or automatic capturesystem.
 22. The scalable common interface plate system of claim 1,wherein said active base interface plate is affixed to a distal end ofsaid robotic manipulator, and wherein a second active base interfaceplate is affixed to a proximal end of said robotic manipulator.